CHAIRMAN of Punchestown Racecourse David Mongey said Punchestown is being offered to Horse Sport Ireland “almost free of charge” despite their announcement to leave Kildare and establish a centre of excellence at Greenogue in Rathcoole, Co Dublin.

Speaking on Kildare FM radio on Wednesday, Mongey, who is also chairman of Failte Kildare and a keen hunting enthusiast, said they would be delighted to welcome Horse Sport Ireland to Punchestown, but funding would have to be sought to build the appropriate facilities.

“Joe Reynolds [Acting CEO, HSI] came to Punchestown before Christmas with the idea of possibly of looking at Punchestown about hosting Horse Sport Ireland’s requirements for the future. We met before Christmas but we couldn’t meet his goals within the timescale to be achieved,” Mongey said. HSI was asking Punchestown, and the others it approached, to pay to build what they wanted and HSI would rent it back from them on a long-term lease.

“Punchestown is a 650-acre site. It has a history of being a recipient of state funding and turning that into good use for people of Kildare, Ireland and for the State. More recently, we got €4 million from government to develop the hunt stand, and we believe it has paid back the state in many ways. The biggest funding we got was for the redevelopment of Punchestown number of years ago and the event centre.

“We have hosted a world championship, two Europeans, carriage driving, endurance riding… The pony games and young people, the mounted games use Punchestown on a regular basis. It has the vast experience, the land bank and the where within to accommodate the entire non-thoroughbred family.”

But is this Punchestown looking for a new business opportunity, asked radio show host Glen Ryan? “I don’t think there is money involved in this, what we are trying to do is offer a facility almost free of charge. This is part of the ethos of Punchestown; the ethos is promote the equestrian horse in Ireland. There will be deals behind deals behind the scenes, but fundamentally for market value, we would love to accommodate them,” Mongey replied.

Joe Reynolds responds: 'I am not anti-Punchestown - but they could not match what we had